


A Summer on Lake Michigan

by Sniperdoodle



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Lake Michigan, M/M, Summer, Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-01-05
Packaged: 2018-01-07 14:37:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1121024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sniperdoodle/pseuds/Sniperdoodle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Pure Michigan Ad Voice with music in background* Spend the summer on the beautiful glistening shores of Lake Michigan, where the star shine at the night and the fun lasts all day. Imagine trips to Traverse City and Mackinaw Island while returning to a warm bed at the end of the day. Imagine the splash of the waves and the adventures on the sandy dunes. This is pure Michigan.</p>
<p>*Normal voice* Dave is spending the summer with his boyfriend Karkat Vantas at his grandparent's cabin on Lake Michigan in the Leelanau peninsula. It's going to be a summer full of swimming in the lake, watching the sunset on the beach, and anything else that you hear in a Pure Michigan Ad. With friends also coming up during the summer, this vacation is promising to be a good one. </p>
<p>(Pure summer Davekat and minor Rosemary fluff)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning of Summer

**Author's Note:**

> This story in apart of an AU of mine where all the characters live in a small city in southeast Michigan. Why Michigan? Because I know it better than anywhere else. I always feel weird setting stories in places I've never been because I feel like I'm getting it wrong. So, I set it in a place I know very well. This story would actually come in later, since I still want Kankri in school, but ideas just came rushing out of me. So enjoy a summer fic I started to write in the middle of winter.

            Karkat didn’t know why he was still in school. He should be sitting in the back Aunt Porrim’s car and sitting through the long drive up to his grandparent’s cabin on Lake Michigan. He would be playing a game on his phone as he leaned on his boyfriends shoulder listening to Rose’s and Kanaya’s conversation as the muffled sound of music poured out of Dave’s headphones. Crab would be panting on the floor of the car because it was getting hot and Crab’s fur equaled a wool blanket. Kankri would be in the other car driven by his father so he wouldn’t have to suffer through a lecture. That’s what Karkat was supposed to be doing on the last day of school and his birthday. 

            But no, he was sitting in a hot classroom in the hot town of Skaia in hot, humid, Michigan. He wished that this was still middle school or elementary school so he didn’t have to take his stupid math final. Karkat had finished the math final thirty minutes ago and there were just a few precious minutes left in the school day to revel in the idea that there would be no school for three months. 

            Karkat would be spending those three months up on the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan in the Leelanau Peninsula at his Grandparent’s cabin. It was a big spacious plot of land where you could see the Manitou Islands and the sun set across the clear water of the lake. Karkat dreamed of trekking on the Sleeping Bear Dunes, campfires at night, fireworks on the Fourth of July, and seeing the stars shinning brightly at night. There would be trips to Traverse City, Mackinaw City, Mackinaw Island, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and any other city they could reach by car.

This year, Karkat’s father let Karkat bring along his boyfriend Dave, and Aunt Porrim let Kanaya bring along her girlfriend Rose. The twins, who had moved to Michigan from New York when they were nine, had never seen Lake Michigan before, which was a crime. Karkat couldn’t wait to spend a sunset with his boyfriend lying in the sands of the lake.

            In addition to spending the summer with his family and boyfriend, the Egbert’s lake house was right next door. During the month of July, the Egbert/Crocker-Harley/English family stayed at their cabin. There was a cabin for rental across the street, and the Pyrope/Nitram/Serket family was going to rent that out for two to three weeks during July also. So for one month during the summer, Karkat will be able to hang out with all of his friends on Lake Michigan. This summer didn’t seem like it could get better. Oh wait. It did.

            Today was Karkat’s birthday! After a five-hour car trip he was going to be able to hang out with full family on his birthday! The forecast up north was clear skies, so he was going to be able to celebrate his birthday with a campfire and s’mores!

            The last student turning in their math final marked the five minute point till the last bell of the year rang. Five more minutes until the freedom of those students oppressed at the jail known as Skaia High. Five more minutes until the school was released to celebrate the sun and the freedom of the summer. Five more minutes until Karkat could escape the confines of school and head up north for a carefree summer. 

            “We should all do a high School Musical thing where we all say ‘summer’ to the beat of the clock,” Dave said as he came and sat in the empty desk in between Karkat and John. Terezi sat in front of Dave and Kanaya sat in front of Karkat.

            “No,” Karkat interjected. “We will not do something stupid as that shit.”

            “Then what?” John asked, wanting to do something from High School Musical since he entered high school. 

            “We get ready to leave,” Karkat replied. “I have things to do, places to go, and I want to get out of this fucking hell hole as fast as is fucking possible.”

            “Too bad,” Dave leaned back. “I’m your ride and I’m thinking about hanging around for another hour.”

            “Then Dave, you will miss the trip to the cabin,” Kanaya reminded Dave.

            “Right,” Dave remember.

            “You have everything packed?” Karkat checked with his boyfriend.

            “Yes,” Dave answered.

            “It’s going to be boring up here with Mr. Nubby and the coolkid gone for two months,” Terezi sighed.

            “But then we get to go up north during July,” John reminded Terezi. “And Dave, you’ve never been to Lake Michigan? You’ve lived here for seven years dude!”

            “My parents are really busy,” Dave tried to wriggle out of the blame.

            “Dave, even I’ve been to Lake Michigan at least twice and Mackinaw Island once,” Terezi interjected. “And my mom’s the busiest person in the world!” 

            “Yeah, at least I’m going now,” Dave answered. “So now I can finally become a full-fledged Michigander.”

            It was Karkat’s rule that you could not considered a true Michigander until you had visited at least one of the Great Lakes. That or going to Mackinaw Island or the Sleeping Bear Dunes. But within going to those two locations, you would be visiting one of the Great Lakes so the first exception cancels the other out. 

            Karkat packed his bag as Terezi told Dave not to drown in the Lake. The school day had only two more minutes and with all of his belongs with him; Karkat was ready to hit the road. 

            The bell then rang and kids streamed into the hall in a mad dash to escape the confines of the school. Karkat followed Dave to his locker because Dave didn’t like to carry all his stuff with him, then they departed to Dave’s car.

            “So are we going to my house first?” Dave asked.

            “Yeah,” Karkat replied. “To get your stuff. We’ll then get my stuff at my house before heading over to Aunt Porrim’s house.”

            “I can’t wait to carpool in a van with five people including my sister, her girlfriend, a big ass dog, a cat, and a bird,” Dave said.

            “Do you really need to bring your bird?” Karkat asked Dave.

            “My parents won’t feed Davesprite,” Dave reminded Karkat. 

            “True,” Karkat agreed.

            The two boys quickly stopped at their respective houses to get all of their belongings including a bird and a big ass dog before they rolled up into Porrim’s driveway. 

            “Gog how do you always do everything before me I swear I left school before you Lalonde,” Dave greeted his sister who was standing in the driveway talking to Kanaya. The garage was closed because they were doing the packing of the van in secret. 

            “That will always be my secret David,” Rose replied.

            “Rose you’ve known me seconds after my own birth and I’ve known you since you were born,” Dave started. “So you should know that my name is Dave, not David. It’s on my birth certificate.”

            Rose just smiled as Karkat’s dog Crab jumped out of Dave’s car to greet Kanaya and Rose as Karkat began to bring his things inside the house.

            “Dave, get your things and bring them inside the house so we can finish loading the van,” Kanaya instructed Dave to get his mind off of trying to start a ‘Bullshit Tossing’ conversation with Rose. The ‘Bullshit Tossing’ conversation between the twins consisted of the siblings taking turns of spewing nonsense at each other then pretending like they understood. It was confusing to follow and got boring after a while. 

            Dave muttered and did as he told. Dave protected his honor by carrying everything inside at once-even including his pillow, his turntables along with the remixing equipemtn, and his bird. Dave even managed to struggle with a few of Karkat’s bags too. 

            “Hello Dave,” Porrim greeted her nephew’s boyfriend.

            “Yo,” Dave replied the greeting through the pile of bags and bird in his arms.

            “Do you require some assistance?” Porrim asked Dave. 

            “No, I have to protect my honor,” Dave replied.

            “And it is more entertaining when he tries to protect his honor,” Rose added. 

            A half-hour later, everything was pack in the van and ready to go. They even had some food for the trip. They had laptops and phones to entertain themselves on the five-hour trip up north. Porrim had pulled the van out to make room for Dave’s car in the garage. After the car shuffling, they loaded into the van. 

            “Dave, Karkat, you two are in the back,” Porrim instructed the two teenage boys.

            “The back?” Dave asked climbing into the cramped back of the silver van. “Why do we have to sit in the back?”

            “Because we’re the guests in the van,” Karkat answered climbing in after Dave. “Would you rather be sitting in the back of an equally cramped van with Kankri stuffed in between us spewing utter bullshit into our deafening ears?”

            “No, this is a very nice arrangement,” Dave replied as Crab ran into the van and jumped into the back seat just to lick Dave on the face before settling on the ground. Jaspers had also jumped in after crab but curled up on the floor a foot away from the panting dog.

            Kanaya, Rose and Porrim all got in at the same time. Davesprite was in his cage on the floor in between Dave’s legs so the stupid bird wouldn’t get too hot. With everyone inside the van, the five-hour drive began. 

            “So, who else in your family is going to be there excluding anyone in the two vans heading up north?” Dave asked Karkat as they began to drive away from Skaia.

            “My grandparents,” Karkat began. “My dad’s brothers Slick and Patrick with their wives, and my great-grandfather.”

            “You have a great-grandpa?” Dave asked confused.

            “Yeah, he’s one of those guys that just won’t die,” Karkat explained. “Just to warn you, my great-grandfather is the stubbornness and the grumpiest person on the face of the earth. So unless you want to get one of his army rants, just stay the fuck away from him.”

            “Even grumpier than you?” Dave then asked.

            “A thousands times more grumpy than I could possible be,” Karkat replied. 

            “Wow,” Dave paused from a moment to let that thought sink in before asking more questions. “So what about your dad? Doesn’t he have a church to preach at this summer?”

            “A substitute pastor is filling in for him,” Karkat replied. “And up north he’s going to be preaching at a church whose pastor recently past away. It’s just for the summer though.”

            “Alright,” Dave thought for a moment. “Haven’t you mentioned your great-grandfather before, right?”

            “He’s my grandfather, why wouldn’t I have mentioned the man who fathered my own father?” Karkat questioned Dave.

            “Didn’t he help you pass history?” Dave then asked.

            “Yes,” Karkat answered. “He’s a professor who used to teach at Wayne State. He’s forte is history. But he also has degrees in science and math. But not English. He fucking hates English majors. He also played around in the stock market and got super rich. He actually invested in Apple.”

            “Wow,” Dave let that sink in. 

            “He’s also been all around the world with my grandma. With his retirement money along with all the money he gained form the stock market and investments, he’s been able to finance vacations. My grandparents have been on all seven continents. Also, he was born with some rare condition in his legs that leave him crippled he wears leg braces and uses crutches to get around.”

            “Okay,” Dave paused. “How long was this ride again?” 

            “Five hours,” Rose answered that question. “More for every rest stop we stop at.”

            “I wasn’t asking you,” Dave informed Rose before turning to Karkat for the answer to the question.

            “It’s still five hours,” Karkat explained as leaned on his boyfriend’s shoulder. 

            “Great,” Dave sighed. “Then no more long trips until the end of the summer?” 

            “Dave. We’ll be in the middle of no where,” Karkat explained. “It’s at least a thirty-minute drive to get to a store. Then more to go anywhere else. The longest trip will be at the end of the summer though, when we have to drive back home.”

            Dave scrunched his nose at the thought of the long rides, but he really was looking forward to the idea of spending the summer away from his family (minus Rose) and with his boyfriend.

            “So tell me some of the places that we’ll go again?” Dave asked. He liked the look Karkat got in his eyes when he was talking about northern Michigan. His grandparent’s cabin was his favorite place in the world, and he could almost recite everything he did every single time he’s been up there. “Just tell me what it’s going to be like.”

            Karkat sat up and turned to Dave before he began. Karkat’s eyes already had that excited sparkle in them and a smirk tugged at the short boy’s cheeks.

            “The cabin is on a huge plot of land that is filled with trees. In the summer, the trees are a blinding shade of green. By the end of the summer, they begin to turn into blazing shades of red, yellow and orange. There’s a large tree house on the plot that my dad built when he was a kid and is still in tact. The grass is always green and soft and looks amazing when the sun shines down through the trees during the morning making the most wonderful pattern. The house is near the lake, so you can look out the window and see the lake shining in the light. There’s a river separating the house from the lake that has clear water so you can see the rocks on the bottom. There are multiple bridges heading to the sandy beach that has white sands. At night, we all go to the beach and watch the sun set streaking amazing colors across the sky and the water. There’s a hill off near the Crocker Cabin that’s perfect for sledding in the winter. During the winter, the entire plot looks like a winter wonderland where it’s always Christmas. The house itself is amazing because the living room is large enough for everyone and we can see the lake. There are rooms for everyone, but the attic is the best. The attic is the best because of the skylights. You can see everything through the skylights. You can crack open the skylights and hear the waves crashing on the shore of lake. But the best thing about the skylights is that at night, you can look up from the beds can see all the stars shining on a completely black sky. It’s truly magical.”

            Dave had never really seen stars before, and that was sad. The lights in Houston and New York, his two previous homes before coming to Skaia, whipped out the stars. The first time he saw that stars, he recognized them as faint dots in the sky above his house in Skaia. He couldn’t wait to see the stars.

            “How about we watch a movie?” Dave then suggested once Karkat’s explanation was over.

            “Alright,” Karkat pulled out his laptop. 

            “Not Love Actually,” Dave warned Karkat though as Karkat pulled up his folder of movies.

            “I was going to say Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” Karkat replied.

            “My favorite movie that I love non-ironically,” Dave exclaimed as Karkat leaned back on Dave’s shoulder and they waited out the rest of the ride with various comedies. 


	2. The Arrival

            Karkat has put his laptop away as they drove down a road very familiar to him. Tree branches curved over the street giving the road a chapel feeling as the sun began its long descent into the night patterning the ground. No houses could be seen but only driveways and mailboxes every mile or so. They were nearing the cabin. 

            Karkat’s dad’s van was right behind Porrim’s because they had caught up with each other in Traverse City. (Kanaya and Rose had almost convinced Aunt Porrim to go shopping at the mall. It wasn’t until they saw Karkat’s dad’s van at a McDonalds that convinced her not). It was better that they were arriving at the same time to Porrim’s and Karkat’s father’s sibling competition did not spark right at the beginning of vacation. 

It only a couple miles until they reached the cabin, though those couple miles seemed longer than the entire trip as they came closer and closer. Finally, they were driving down the beaten path to the Vantas Cabin on Lake Michigan. 

            They finally pulled up and piled out of the van as an older woman and an older man who walked with crutches and leg braces came up to the assembled group. 

            “Mom, Dad!” Mr. Vantas greeted his parents as he came out of his van.

            “Karter! Good to see you!” Karkat’s grandmother greeted her son. “And Porrim! You look amazing!”

            “Thank-you mom,” Porrim gave her mother a hug.

            “Still taller than me, eh?” Karkat’s grandfather greeted his children. “Well, I should be used to being the short one. And Karkat, why haven’t you out-grown me yet?”

            Karkat huffed at the short joke before saying, “Hey Grandpa.”

            “Sorry to dampen the mood,” Karkat’s grandpa laughed. “The only way to feel good about your height is to joke about it. But happy birthday!”

            “Yes, happy birthday Karkat!” Karkat’s grandmother gave Karkat a hug. 

            “Grandma,” Kanaya greeted her grandmother with hug and then turned to her grandfather to give him a hug as well.

            “Kanaya you still look dazzling,” Karkat’s grandmother complimented her grand-daughter. “And Deborah it’s wonderful to see you again.”

            “Dominique, Aden, nice to see you as well,” Karkat’s step-mother greeted her in-laws.

            “Grandfather, Grandmother,” Kankri greeted his grandparents in his strange way by formally addressing them.

            “Kankri,” Aden greeted his grandson. “Was school good to you this year?”

            “It was a fine year but there were some problems that I would have address if the senate would have given me power along the lines of various triggers that I’ve found in the school mainly on the walls of the-” Kankri tried to begin a rant but Aden cut him off. 

            “But now you are out of high school so it doesn’t matter anymore,” Aden pointed out to his grandson.

            “Yes, well, I would have liked to make my mark on the school in any way possible,” Kankri tried to start another lecture.

            “You’ll be known as the class president that just wouldn’t shut the fuck up,” Karkat informed his older brother.

            “Wow this is amazing!” Nepeta said as she looked around at forest. Meulin followed close behind her and started to sign a message. Nepeta turned around and said, “Aden! Dominique! Meulin said hi!”

            Dominique waved to Meulin, obviously not knowing sign language but Aden signed something to her. Meulin singed back before following Nepeta up to the edge of the woods. 

            “And who are you two?” Aden turned to Dave and Rose.

            “This is Dave strider, he’s my boyfriend,” Karkat introduce Dave.

            “And this is Rose Lalonde, my girlfriend,” Kanaya introduced Rose. “They’re twins.”

            “Welcome to Lake Michigan!” Aden greeted the twins shaking their hands.

            “I’m Dominique and this is my husband Aden,” Dominique introduced themselves to the twins while she shook their hands.

            “Get your stuff and come on inside,” Aden began to direct everyone inside. “The first night’s tough when we have to settle everyone in, but we also have a birthday to celebrate as well!”

            “When will Slick and Patrick be coming?” Karkat’s dad asked. 

            “Sometime during July Karter!” Dominique answered her son who began to lift bags into the house.

            “Who named him Slick any way?” Karter question is younger brother’s naming.

            Aden laughed, “You did Karter!”

            “I did?” Karter questioned himself.

            “Yep, at Slick and Jack’s birth we asked you what you wanted to name the first twin, and you said Slick!” Aden laughed walking inside the house.

            Dave walked over to Porrim’s van and began to try and pile all the belongings he brought in his arms but Karkat stopped him.

            “Take two trips,” Karkat instructed with an agitated sigh at his boyfriend’s stubbornness with the idea of protecting his honor. “We have four sets of stairs to climb to get to the top fuckass and I don’t want you to break something.”

            “Alright,” Dave groaned and settled for two trips. He piled up half of his things and quickly navigated through the house behind Karkat to the top of the house to the attic. He didn’t pay much attention to anything until he had gotten all his things up stairs. 

            The attic was a spacious room with walls that were basically slanted ceilings so he had to watch out that he did not bump his head. Two twin beds were placed under two open skylights that let light into the room along with the sounds of waves crashing up against a sandy shore and a cool evening breeze. A white night stand was set in between the beds with a desk light on it. There was a closet on the side of the room opposite of the stair case and a dresser placed in an alcove in closet and the wall facing the lake. A desk was in the opposite alcove pushed in between the closet and the wall that was the front of the house. There was another dresser on the walls opposite of the beds that had an old book on it and another lamp along with a small TV.

            Karkat sat on the bed closest to the closet with Crab stationed right next to him panting away. Karkat was fiddling with reading glasses before setting them on the night stand and started to unpack.

            “Already choose beds without me?” Dave asked dropping some of his things on the bed closest to the staircase.

            “Actually I’ve slept in this bed every time I have stayed at this cabin for the past ten years of my life so I think that it’s mine,” Karkat retorted opening one of his suit cases. “The dresser on the wall is yours. The one here is mine. We’ll have to share the closet even though it’s already split in half.”

            “Everything planned out?” Dave then asked as he set up his turntables and remixing gear on the ground in front of his bed after placing Davesprite in his cage on a stand near the staircase railing. 

            “That’s just how it’s always been,” Karkat explained beginning to put clothes in drawers. “Is that stuff going to be safe on the ground? Because I know its expensive shit because you brag about how expensive your remixing and mixing shit is.” 

            “Will a dog, human, or cat trample over them?” Dave questioned Karkat.

            “No,” Karkat answered. “It’s seldom that anyone beside the residents of this bedroom pass beyond the landing of those stairs. So that means that it’s just me, you, and Crab. And Jaspers. I don’t know the behavior of your sister’s devil cat.” 

            “Jaspers will probably just hang in Rose and Kanaya’s room,” Dave explained. 

            “So no worries,” Karkat answered his own question as he opened a different suitcase and began to place some crappy romance novels on the empty space on the dresser. “Do you want the desk for your laptop?”

            “Nah, I’ll keep it near the bed,” Dave replied.

            “You’re not going to stay on your phone or laptop all night,” Karkat warned Dave as he began to plug his laptop in over at the desk. “You’re going to get some sleep.”

            “Aw, you care,” Dave joked around.

            “If you don’t get some sleep you’ll be shit tired and you won’t be able to do all the cool stuff I told you about,” Karkat warned Dave. “No playing around in Lake Michigan, no trips to cities, no trips to the UP, so make sure that you actually get some sleep.” 

            “I’m actually pretty tired,” Dave informed Karkat telling to truth. “And I have some Melatonin just in case.”

            “Okay,” Karkat moved onto other things after setting up his laptop and began to put more clothes in the closet. 

            The boyfriends continued to talk as they set the room up for the future three months joking about where they had placed various objects or how many things they had brought to survive the summer when Karkat’s grandfather came up the stairs.

            “You two settling in fine?” Aden asked looking the room.

            “Yep,” Karkat answered because Dave was busy sorting through some of the DVD’s he had brought. The boyfriends were tempted to combine their collection on a shelf above Karkat’s dresser just to see what they had altogether.

            “Well Karkat, you birthday dinner will be ready in thirty minutes,” Aden informed them. “And just to remind you two, you’re at the top. So if anything particularly loud, say the bed shaking, then everyone underneath you will hear it. Got it?”

            “Yep,” Karkat answered not looking up from his job of organizing his own movies.

            “Alright, see you two in thirty minutes,” Aden said before turning around and climbing back downstairs.

            “Was that a threat?” Dave asked confused.

            “Yep,” Karkat replied. “And my father’s room is right beneath us, with Rose and Kanaya’s room right next to his. So my grandparents were being crafty and strategic.” 

            “Oh,” Dave said before turning back to the job at hand. 

            Minutes passed and soon it was time to go downstairs.

            “Come on Dave, I do not want to be late to my own party,” Karkat told Dave as he was sifting through the last suitcase. “And they will start without me.”

            “Hold on,” Dave tried to bring forth his boyfriend’s small patience as he pulled a badly wrapped gift from his bag. “Can’t forget this.”

            “You got me something?” Karkat asked confused.

            “Yeah, I would be a bad boyfriend if I didn’t,” Dave replied. 

            “What?” Karkat then asked.

            “Find out when you open your presents,” Dave answered.

            “You’re a big fuckass,” Karkat informed Dave.

            “I know that,” Dave replied.

            Then the boys descended the stairs after their conversation about presents and traveled through the hallways to get to the first floor of the house. The walls of the hallways were covered with photos of Karkat’s family and maps of various places around the world. Each map had various thumb tacks in cities, most likely marking the places where Karkat’s grandparents have been. 

            The living room/dinning/kitchen was one large open area that could fit the population of Rhode Island. The ceilings over the living room and dinning room were vaulted and had skylights in them to let in the cool breeze. The room above the kitchen had windows so whoever had the chance of staying in that room could shout down at anyone being obnoxious in the living room. There was also an open space where the staircase landing was. The wall facing the lake was almost completely glass so you could see the beauty of Lake Michigan along with the surrounding woodlands. A glass door with a screen was opened to the wooden balcony where multiple lawn chairs were placed for relaxing. 

            In the living room there was a large stone fireplace with multiple Lake-related knick-knacks on the shelf. Squeezed in between the fireplace and the wall facing the lake there was an entertainment center with a large TV surrounded by a large collection of movies. A closet was tucked right next to the fireplace. The door was opened a crack and Dave could see that inside where coats and a bunch of games. There were multiple couches and chairs placed to surround the TV and glass coffee table. Side tables with lamps were tucked in between the couches and chairs. The whole set-up of the living room gave it a cozy feeling and beckoned Dave to lie on the couch. 

            The dinning room was open to the living room and has a large table that could fit everyone at the cottage. There was enough space and chairs for everyone which seemed rare to Dave. The centerpiece of the table was a cake covered in red and grey frosting all ready for it’s consumption at Karkat’s birthday party. 

            The kitchen was open to the living room through a bar and the open hallway. The kitchen was big with an island in the center and granite countertops. All the machinery in the kitchen was stainless steel and everything cleaned to perfection. The bar was an open window to the kitchen that had four stools placed in front of it, but it was not used for eating because a buffet was set up on it. 

            When you came down the stairs, you ended up at a conjunction that either lead to the kitchen to the left, another hallways which lead to more bedrooms and the stairs that lead to the basement to the left, perform a 180 and go to the living room, or you could head straight out the front door onto the front porch. The boys chose to stay out of Dominique’s and Porrim’s way in the kitchen as they were still preparing for the dinner, and instead headed into the living room.

            Most of the family was assembled in the living room. Aden was standing out on the porch with Karter and Deborah talking about some shit. Coping with the wait of dinner, Nepeta and Meulin had somehow roped Kankri into a game of Go Fish, Rose and Kanaya were sitting on the couch being snarky about some shit with the look on their faces, and a man who looked as old as dirt was reading a book with bifocals perched on his nose in a rocking chair-the perfect picture of elderliness. Dave placed his gift on the small pile of presents accumulating on the coffee table and joined Karkat outside on the porch.

            The view from the porch was impressive. Though the sun was starting to get in his eyes because it was seven, Dave enjoyed the view. The sky began to shift color as the evening deepened and the sun reflected off the lake making the rippling water shimmer. From the balcony hanging above the ground, Dave could see the stream clearly following beneath their feet in the backyard. A small hill with various bushes and brush blocked the view of the sandy beach as it stretch all along the side of the stream. Dave could see a wooden bridge a few yards away from the house that crossed over the stream and through a break in the hills to his left. To his right Dave could see more of the stream and tree, as well as an American flag wavering in the wind on a pole stuck in the ground.

            “Wow,” Dave said after his look around. “Impressive.”

            “Yep,” Karkat agreed. “And we get to see this view for the rest of summer.”

            “Amazing,” Dave continued to admire the view of the lake before looking back down at the ground below him. “So how do we get down there?” 

            “Well, you could just walk around the fucking house but there’s also a basement with another sliding glass door and a patio,” Karkat answered.

            “Do you have a ping-pong table in the basement?” Dave asked.

            “And air hockey,” Karkat added.

            “Awesome,” Dave finished. 

            “Dinner’s ready!” Dominique announced from the kitchen. Her voice was made heard by the screen door to the balcony. And so, the feast began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Vantas-Maryam cabin is heavily based off of the condo my family stayed in when we went to the Homestead, the best resort on Lake Michigan in my eyes. Yes, so go there if you would like to spend your summer like this. Go. Now. In the middle of winter. They're also a ski resort. Go now. Scurry away. 
> 
> I have some pictures of the view from the balcony, but those were taken in the middle of the day, so I'll save them for when it is the middle of the day. There are pictures of the living area at the Homestead, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to share those because that was someone's living area. Like, someone lived there when the Homestead did not let other people stay there. It was still cool anyway.


	3. The First Sunset of the Summer

            “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday Karkat, happy birthday to you!”

            Karkat was about to blow out the candles but a certain annoyance stopped him.

            “Now Karkat even though the thought of wishes are completely made up and unreasonable, that does not mean that you should make your wish practical in the sense that-” Kankri began but he was cut off by Karkat’s great-grandfather, the old as dirt, Adam Vantas.

            “Shut up you weasel and let the kid blow out his candles!!” Adam yelled at Kankri, quickly shutting up the older boy.

            “Thanks,” Karkat thanked his great-grandfather and then blew out the candles.

            “Watcha wish for?” Dave then asked his boyfriend.

            “For Kankri to loose his voice,” Karkat said and everyone excluding Kankri laughed.

            “Now Karkat that was completely uncalled for,” Kankri began. Adam glared at Kankri and he shut up once again.

            “Alright, who wants cake?” Dominique asked beginning to cut the cake. Just about everyone raised their hand, excluding Great-Grandpa Adam. After everyone got a piece, just about the entire cake was gone, with the last sliver left for Karkat. With everyone full from dinner and cake, it was time for Karkat to open presents.

            One thing that anyone was sure to say was that Karkat was hard to shop for. He didn’t need much. Give him some clothes, a couple romance novels, internet connection with a device he can use to chat with people and he’ll be set. However, that did not stop his loved ones from going out of their way to get him stuff. 

            From his parents, Karkat received a new poster and new headphones. A large gift was on the way but in the Vantas family, the biggest gift was saved for last. From his grandparents, Karkat got cash (what every teenager truly wants) and portable speakers which he had needed. Kankri actually got Karkat something thoughtful and got his younger brother a romance novel that he had not read yet. Kanaya gave Karkat a new jacket she made herself and Rose knitted Karkat a scarf that would be more useful when fall and winter came around rather than at the present moment. Dave got Karkat a hoodie to replace his current one, because that one was actually becoming too small for the short boy. Nepeta and Meulin got their step-brother some dog toy for when he plays with Crab. It was ball that you could throw with something that resembled a small lacrosse net but it was plastic and had no net.

            Finally, Karkat’s parents brought out the last gift as an act of a grand finale. It was a large long wrapped box so it was a wild guess to whatever lay inside. Karkat tore off the wrapping paper and opened a large brown cardboard. Inside the brown box was a guitar case, and inside the guitar case was-(authorial gasp)-an acoustic guitar.

            Not many people knew that Karkat was a musical prodigy. Or, could have been. He still had an amazing talent with music; it’s just that he didn’t care in his early life. He began to get back into his talent when they had to participate in band at school. Karkat shocked everyone in fifth grade with showing off his talent. While everyone was trying to get a sound of the instrument they were beginning to learn, Karkat could pick up an instrument for the first time, be taught the basic fingerings of it, then get a sound out of the instrument that would take years to learn. He began to play the saxophone in sixth grade and still continued to play that instrument, but now he began to branch off. Karkat learned some guitar basics from Vriska, so Karkat knew how to play the guitar. The only problem was Karkat didn’t have a guitar until now.

            “Wow,” Karkat said, is eyes wide as he looked over the guitar. Karkat wasn’t expecting that he was going to get a guitar, so it was quiet the surprise. “This is awesome.”

            Before Karkat could finished admiring his new guitar, Aden claimed that it was time to go outside and roast marshmallows. Dave helped Karkat carry the presents he got up to his room and prepared to head outside.

            “Good birthday?” Dave asked Karkat.

            “Good birthday,” Karkat informed Dave as he carefully set the guitar on the ground next to his dresser.

            “So what do I need?” Dave asked, new to Lake Michigan so he asked the dorky questions to Karkat in private.

            “Wear sandals,” Karkat began. “Wear a jacket or something because it will get cold. We aren’t going into the lake except for maybe wading in the water after the bonfire, so we can grab a beach towels from my grandparent’s infinite supply of beach towels. Other than that, everything else is outside.”

            Dave grabbed his red jacket and put on his flip-flops, and watched Karkat put on the hoodie Dave gave him before getting his sandals.

            “Aren’t you going to wear the jacket Kanaya gave you?” Dave questioned.

            “Kanaya would kill me if I wore that to lounge outside,” Karkat scowled. “It’s obviously meant for fancier events rather than making s’mores and sit in the sand watching the sunset.”

            “Ah,” Dave realized. They quickly got ready before running down the stairs, grabbing beach towels out of the beach towel closet (which was filled with nothing but beach towels of all shapes, sizes and colors), then went into the basement. 

            The basement looked like the perfect place to spend rainy days. Like Karkat said, there was a ping-pong table and air hockey, as well as pool and foosball. There were also some classic Atari games line up on the wall like Pac-Man and Galaga to the right. Off to the left was an actually bar and giant flat-screen TV along with a hallway that lead to another room. The back wall was another wall made of glass with a sliding glass door that lead out to the porch, the stream and the campfire which Aden had already started. 

            (According to Karkat, his father Karter could no survive a day out alone in the wilderness. He knew everything to do; it’s just that nature was not kind to the kind pastor. That’s why the Vantas family never went camping. Aden, unlike his son, was magically adept for making nature bend to his will, so no one else could have started the campfire except for the elder Vantas.)

            Aden was standing by the campfire but when he looked inside he saw that his grandson and his grandson’s boyfriend were the first to come downstairs. Aden then made his way inside.

            “Karkat, Dave,” Aden greeted the two boys. “Now Dave, Karkat’s told me that you were a photographer.”

            “Yeah,” Dave answered. “I brought my two cameras though the better one needs a dark room.”

            “Well, the original owner of this house was actually a photographer,” Aden began to explain as he beckoned Dave and Karkat to follow him down the hallway. “He was quiet rich so when he built the house, he built his own dark room.”

            Aden opened up a door and inside was a room lit in red with everything anyone could ever need in a dark room and more. 

            “Wow,” Dave took a step inside to look around before stating, “This is much better than my shitty closet dark room.”

            “I’ve kept it persevered all these years just in case if someone in the family every got into photography,” Aden answered. “But you can check it out later. I have a fire going. Time to make s’mores.”

            Karkat and Dave followed Aden outside, where the elder Vantas already had everything set up. Chairs to sit on, a table set up to make the s’mores and even the poker things that you put the marshmallows on. 

            Everyone trickled out of the house one by one and they all sat around the campfire joking around as marshmallows were roasted. Dave and Karkat stuffed more s’mores down their faces than they could count before even Aden brought out the bacon. When the fire started to die and the sun hung low in the sky, the group moved to the shore of Lake Michigan to watch the sunset. 

            The sand was soft and cool in between Dave’s toes and wrapped around his feet with every step he took. He already removed his sandals when the sand on the bridge started to get thick. On the private shore, the lawn chairs were already pulled out. The adults resigned to the chairs as the teenagers walked closer to the crashing waves making thunderous sounds as the rolled onto the shore.

            Dave took a step forward into the wet sand and he could feel it stick to his skin then wash off as the foaming waves washed over his feet. The water was freezing yet relaxing as it continued the motion of pushing forward the pulling back, moving the pushed sand to it’s everlasting cycle.

            The water glimmered in the setting sun as colors of orange and yellow reflected onto the shimmering waves. The sky straight above was a dark blue but as it reached the water and the sun it dissolved into yellow, to orange, and to pink. The sun itself was bearable to look at as it began to dip into the water in between two islands in the distance. Dave couldn’t believe its magnificent beauty.  


            Dave took the moment to look over at Rose who was no doubt trying to put the beauty of the Lake Michigan sunset into words. Rose was wearing her happy smirk as Kanaya’s hand wrapped around hers. Dave decided to put a move on Karkat and wrapped an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. Karkat didn’t seem to care because he was silently staring at the sunset with the closest thing he ever gets to a smile: a smirk.

            It was amazing to watch the sunset seem to be swallowed by the lake, slowly lowering itself into the cold waters as if it was putting itself out. Even though the sun was gone, it left behind its brilliant colors and a light in the sky. But soon, the colors of the sunset began to fade into the distance as the dark sky took over.

            With day officially over, Dave couldn’t believe the feeling of contempt he felt at this moment with Karkat next to him and no worries in the future. It was peaceful feeling, a feeling of serenity, and the first he felt in a long time.

            The next Dave looked at Karkat, the adults had already retreated inside and the teens were left outside, even Kankri. Dave, Karkat, Rose and Kanaya still stood at the shore though with the last glow of day in front of their eyes. Dave looked at his boyfriend, who strangely had a mischievous grin on his face. It wasn’t like the prankster grin Egbert usually had on his face, but one that meant that trouble was going to be brewing.

            “What are you scheming?” Dave asked Karkat.

            “You know another tradition at Lake Michigan?” Karkat asked Dave.

            “What?” Dave asked. Karkat grabbed his hand and dragged him into the lake waters up to where it was up to their knees (they had thankfully rolled up their pants in expectance of going into the water). 

            “Being the first in the lake!” Karkat shouted and pushed Dave into the water.

            Dave felt his head rolled under the waves and his whole body becoming soaked as he was forcefully ejected into the water. He came back up with his shades a screw and his wet hair over his eyes. Kanaya and Rose were openly laughing, though Karkat was trying to hide his smile and his giggles.

            “Egbert frowns upon you today Karkat,” Dave told his boyfriend.

            “He’s the one who told me to do this,” Karkat replied. Dave realized that Karkat was preparing for this because he took off his new hoodie and placed it on one of the beach chairs and telling Dave to bring a towel. Karkat had a sly smirk on his face as Dave sat on the sand in the lake. Dave knew that he had to do something about this.

            Dave kicked Karkat’s legs causing the small boy to stop giggling as he fell into the water with a large splash. Karkat came up much like Dave, with the hair over his eyes and sopping wet. Dave and Karkat took one look at each other before bursting out laughing at their idiocy. 

            “You two may want to come out now,” Kanaya advised the two boys as they stood up, both completely wet. 

            “What? You two don’t want to join us?” Dave asked the two girls as he trudged out of the lake.

            “Well, there is a chance for hypothermia since you two decided that the ideal time for swimming would be at night,” Rose informed Dave as she handed her twin a beach towel.

            “Let’s just get back,” Karkat decided on, still wearing a small smirk on his face as he dried his hair with the beach towel. “We all need some sleep.”

            “Yes,” Kanaya agreed. “I over heard Uncle Karter saying something about a trip into Leland tomorrow.”

            “Leland?” Dave asked. “Leland. Funny name. Leeeeeeeeeeeeeland.”

            “What’s in Leland?” Rose asked.

            “Fucking nothing,” Karkat replied. “But we can still buy shit there.”

            “Cool, to Leland!” Dave shouted. 

            Karkat shook his head at his boyfriend’s idiocy and just grabbing Dave’s damp hand as they headed back to the house. Dave could see that Karkat still had a small smirk on the face as they crossed the bridge. He guessed that serenity brought the best out of Karkat, and even after a short day on Lake Michigan, he couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the summer would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had pictures of Lake Michigan to show you, but I have no idea how to move them from my photos the document. This is stupid. If anyone can tell me how to do this, tell me. Then you can see the beauty of a Lake Michigan sunset. Either that, or go look up the sunset yourself.
> 
> Oh, and as a warning. Some characters may be a bit OOC. I'm not experienced with writing the Leijons and Karkat may have been a bit off in this chapter, so please forgive me. (I'm not sorry for my own head cannon of human Karkat being a musical prodigy though.)

**Author's Note:**

> I will speak about Lake Michigan with great passion, because that is seriously my favorite place to vacation. Disney World was cool, but I can't return there every summer because it costs a shit ton of money. So, there you have it. The beginning of a wonderful summer.


End file.
